Can I keep you?
by Terfle
Summary: Bernie's one night bartender stint is pleasantly compromised by Serena's attentions
1. Chapter 1

The music was blaring, the drinks looked nuclear and Serena was suffering from the realisation that she couldn't keep up like she used to. She slunk over to the bar and ordered a drink from the one female bartender, simply dressed in jeans and a white tank top. Serena appreciated that she wasn't the only mature woman there.

The bartender poured drinks with a steady hand and a shy smile. The first time she caught Serena's eye she ducked her head and focused on the drinks. The next time she kept eye contact just that bit longer and by the third time, they didn't bother with anyone else.

'The music is killing me. I've come to play with someone my own age if you don't mind.'

She smiled.

'I don't mind.'

Serena sat with her dirty martini and observed…how skinny were those jeans exactly? She'd never had the figure for a pair of those. With those lanky legs, the woman wore it well. Shifting over crates of just washed glasses, she settled down to polish while attempting to converse with her. Serena appreciated it. It was a quieter corner and one she was intensely grateful for. She learned that the bartender was only here for one night as a favour to a friend, that disco night had long ceased to be a thing and not to drink the tequila, it was lethal.

Bernie considered the burgundy polka dotted shirt in front of her and the woman who wore it. She was a flirt and Bernie liked that, it had been a very long time since she'd been able to respond. Sometimes it felt like she was the only woman her own age out after dark and she appreciated that this distraction was here tonight. She wondered if there was something about herself that whispered lesbian to some women. She'd lived like a nun after that disaster with Alex, the one that had broken up her marriage. Almost like a nun, to her shame, she had paid for it once.

' _You have the look of someone who is searching for something.'_

 _She sat still in her chair, eyes ahead, not wanting to address it with an exotic stranger. The stripper stroked back a curl behind her ear and she trembled with fright, feeling vulnerable that she saw what Bernie wanted and the lack of courage to ask for it. For £30, the lady would provide extra services. Bernie finally cracked and handed over the money to let herself submit to the ministrations of a stranger. She'd done a good job inbetween Bernie's thighs and God knows that Bernie needed the release but the loneliness set in when she remembered that there was no kissing, no tender touches, just the isolated tongue and fingers of one who was skilled in her job. She felt dirty._

This woman might run to her preference. The tapping of those red nails stalled her. They were long enough to answer her question. Damn. Serena tracked her glance and smiled.

'Fun fact, usually the nails on your dominant hand are shorter' she informed her.

Bernie checked with a swift glance. She was right. Serena had been tapping with her left hand. So she must be right handed. She caught her eye and gave a slightly embarrassed smile for outing herself. But if this mysterious woman knew where her mind went, maybe that meant she was her type. She hoped. She liked, no, more than liked this stranger with the sparkling eyes, wanted nothing more to dive inbetween the sheets and explore her.

Serena in turn glimpsed the peek of the silvery pink scar that presumably ran down the bartender's chest. She was intrigued but stalled all thoughts of further investigation until she could be sure that they were on the same page. It looked like they might be but you could never tell. Serena had only recently started to dabble in what she could assume was previously dormant Sapphic tendencies. The jokes about her haircut were predictable enough but since turning 50 and having discarded the last useless man, she'd started to be chatted up by other women. She'd kissed a good many but had declined to spend the night with any of them. It wasn't just because she was a novice at it, goodness knows the urge was strong enough, but the spark that was just right to light up their kisses wasn't enough to go further. She wanted to, to the point of distraction but she wasn't sure if it was really just a fantasy or was she just bored and mistaking that for her horny state? She wasn't quite sure what to do if she got to that stage. She felt like this woman, if she were willing, might just take her there.

Bernie's voice startled her out of her thoughts. Just as well. Any minute now and it would start getting X-rated in her head. A glass of red wine was in front of her, her favourite Shiraz. She vaguely remembered telling the bartender that.

'On the house.'

Bernie's expression led Serena to draw a £5 note from her lacy bra and lean over the counter.

'I don't flirt for drinks, I pay for them.'

Bernie took her time in extracting the note from her hand, brushing her thumb against Serena's hand. They felt a tingle.

'I don't mind either way.'

The look she gave Serena made her feel dizzy. It turned out that they were on the same page after all.


	2. Chapter 2

'I don't normally do this.'

The cold wind wrapped around them as they ran out of that neon hell hole, Bernie having ditched her shift early so she could go and have possibly the best shag of her life. She could bet this other woman had a few tricks up her sleeve and couldn't wait to find out.

'Ok well I never do this.'

They skidded to a halt, turning to each other, Serena staring at her as if to judge whether she was telling the truth. Satisfied by the way Bernie's shyness emerged when she looked at her too long, she then offered an introduction.

'Serena.'

Bernie took the outstretched hand, feeling foolish that they hadn't done this before.

'Bernie.'

Serena tilted her head to consider the image.

'Bernadette?'

'Berenice.'

'That's unusual.'

Bernie honked in amusement, it was a bore to hear it from everyone but she just wanted to keep listening to the sound of Serena's voice.

Serena raised an eyebrow at that even more unusual laugh, commented on how glorious it was and how she wanted to hear more of it.

Bernie scuffed the floor with her shoe feeling like a school girl. Serena thought it was endearing, moved forward to stroke her cheek, told her so. The blush that suffused her face and those wide eyes made Serena really want to kiss her, do more. Slam her up against the wall and slide her hand down her jeans for a start. She suspected that they would have to be taken off first, they were that tight. She was looking forward to that. She settled for a light kiss, almost a whisper against the wind. Bernie loved it. It made her tingle all over. She slid her arms around her date and followed it up with something much stronger; made Serena gasp at the intensity of it, moan at the brush of lips and tongues and felt ready to say yes to pretty much anything this woman wanted.

'I've never done this either.'

Bernie was surprised but it didn't deter her.

There was a nearby hotel any normal person would have gone to. They chose the shed. It belonged to the club and was stocked with useful things like spare furniture for the upstairs rooms. They could have just paid a fee and gone upstairs too but this was more fun. Just the moonlight illuminating their pale skin as Bernie backed Serena up against the wall and held her there while she kissed her soundly. Bloody hell it was cold. Serena hissed at the chill assaulting her chest as Bernie slowly unwrapped her shirt and slid her out of it. She'd practically ripped that tank top off her in turn. But it was worth it to see those stiff nipples through that no-nonsense bra. She could bet what colour they were. She was right. She was to find that out later because she was too busy trying to keep a calm head while her own bra was being carefully snapped off with those gentle fingers, dropped on the floor with careful abandon. A blonde head dipping down to catch a nipple in her mouth was all it took for her to abandon her reserve, pulling those hips in those impossibly skinny jeans towards her while Bernie's arms kept her trapped against the wall. Serena loved a pair of strong arms and loved a strong tongue even more, the flicker and swish of Bernie's was enough to drive her crazy. She'd held out on all of these other women for so long that it didn't seem like it was going to be that difficult to do it with this one. It wasn't going to take long to drench her knickers, she was almost there.

Bernie felt at ease with this woman. She'd started stripping her the moment they'd got in the shed and it felt much more comfortable than she thought it would be. She hoped that the soft moans Serena was emitting was a taster of what was to come. Somebody vocal about the effect Bernie had on them was a huge boost to her confidence, she felt much less ashamed of what she was doing. With Alex, Bernie was terrified that someone would hear, even in her enjoyment. She could bet that Serena was even louder. She'd fantasised about doing this and here she was, brave enough to do so. She trailed her tongue all the way up to Serena's neck, catching her face in her hands and kissing her again and again. This woman made it easy for her to be as wanton as she had longed to be. Her clever hands had been stroking all the skin she could reach and had reached the end of her tether with that boring bra. She'd snapped it right off and tossed it aside, all the more to touch her with. She caught Bernie's eye and started giggling, a charming manner on such a gravel voiced woman. Bernie admired how it transformed her into something far more impish than she'd previously revealed. She made her smile and Bernie hadn't had a lot to smile about recently.

They stepped away from the wall to unwrap a mattress and let it crash to the floor to fall back on it, laughing like teenagers. They'd be long gone before the vandalism was discovered. Bernie carefully unbuttoned Serena's sensible black trousers and slowly slid them down her legs. Serena hummed with contentment. She'd missed intimate contact, had denied herself for some time so she wouldn't be disappointed in the day after. The feel of fabric on bare skin and the warmth of another body replacing the cold air was irresistible. Bernie played with the edges of the lacy knickers, fingers ghosting over skin. There was something very seductive about a rogue curl peeking out from lace underwear she realised. It was having quite the effect on her. Her voice was hesitant but her touch was insistent.

'It's very fancy.'

Serena agreed.

'We should make sure it doesn't get ruined.'

A bit late for that. Serena voiced that opinion with a laugh. Bernie ducked her head to smile at this irrepressible woman. Where had she been all her life? She stopped that laugh soon enough when she tugged the fancy knickers off and started licking her way down to the hot wet cause of the ruined underwear. Bernie ran her hands up Serena's legs and pressed her lips to the seam, kissing very lightly. The twitch of the hips and the accompanying sigh told her what she needed to know. She kept kissing every inch she could find, switching it up with slow laps of her tongue, feeling the other woman move beneath her, listening to her cries of pleasure which only caused to make her wonderfully wet. She attempted to multitask, undoing her jeans and wriggling out of them at the same time and she did a pretty good job of it. Serena was astounded to find her almost undressed by the end of it. She was incredibly impressed.

It had been a long time since she'd had this and God, she'd waited a long time for it. How did two slow fingers in feel so good? Genius. She was wasted on celibacy. Both of them were. The flick of that tongue and she nearly came; the slow circling of her clit with a steady thumb, she could barely handle it, at some point she felt like she was going to faint. She lay back, heavily panting and deliciously wet. Her body throbbed with satisfaction and warmth and she'd wondered how she'd ever hook up with a man again. No match for a woman's familiar tongue and soft skin. Even the fingering was instinctual, she'd had a lifetime of hapless males bashing about down there and she'd banned it but a round with this woman and all of a sudden she wanted more. Raising herself up on her elbows, she looked long and hard at the lean body opposite her, so different from her own. There was something fascinating about that scar and it was her turn to roam her hands over the other woman's legs and back; pull her towards her and straddle her lap. Bernie assumed Serena's previous position, supporting herself while relaxing into her touch. She'd never made that noise before, she thought but then nobody had ever touched her scar before. Serena was precise and tender with her ministrations, pressing her lips from the beginning to the end, one hand stroking her nipples, the other on the small of her back. Damn she was a good beginner.

Easing the suitably plain pair of knickers down and off (pleasurably soaked, she noticed), she trailed her fingers down into the point of no return. Gently pushing Bernie down, she slid down a little further, ready to explore a new path. A touch of her finger started it off. As she gleefully laid her tongue right in the middle and started from there; she kept it slow and cautious, not wanting to overwhelm herself, feeling very naughty and noting that the quiet groans from Bernie spurred her on. It was the first time she'd really thought about it, a noise of arousal could turn you on and make you fuck them harder.


	3. Chapter 3

'So, how was it for you?'

Bernie was being uncharacteristically cheeky. Serena knew it because it hadn't taken long to deduce that Bernie wasn't usually so forward. She turned her head and told her the truth.

'Absolutely incredible.'

Bernie was lying on her side, hand not quite hiding her smile, looking at Serena like she was the only woman in the world. They'd made use of some curtains for blankets and snuggled up for a while. Serena pulled Bernie over to her to nestle in her neck, arm draped over her body with Serena's hand stroking her hair. They stayed like this for a long while and as dawn was beginning to break, they gathered up their clothes and bags and raced off down the path, mingling with the last of the clubbers. They had time to hit the coffee shop before the early morning rush and told each other they'd see each other again. Tomorrow night in fact. For the first time since getting one of those new-fangled phones, WhatsApp would be buzzing all day and all evening.

Serena read the latest message just before heading off to the pub. Shiraz and whiskey all round. She'd proposed this for their next date and Bernie's response made her stop and catch her breath in delight. She didn't answer.

Bernie waited for her at the door and looked at her, head tilted as if to gauge her reaction. She repeated her question in the softest most caressing voice, making Serena dizzy.

'Can I keep you?'

The radiant smile she got in return was enough to chase away any doubts she had about this encounter. The next kiss scorched her soul and inflamed her heart. She did get to keep her.


End file.
